Our Work

Your Brilliant Story Workshop | Part of Brilliant Creators Program | 2016

Flutter Lyon is an Australian arts and health organisation utilising art to help human beings have conversations and share stories that matter.

Their work is underpinned by the story-capturing methodology Pressography and the art form of Life Pressings that founder Robyn Wilson first developed in 2006.Since then the organisation has gone on to work with hundreds of people through artistic experiences and training programs, be awarded numerous grants and major funding for their projects and awarded a NSW Health LHD Quality Award for their palliative care legacy program in Australian hospitals.

What We Do- Life Pressing Sessions for individuals, couples, families and organisations- Life Pressing Workshops exploring art, storytelling, mental health and community development- Life Pressing Kits and online programs that teach people how to record their own stories and connect with the people they love- Programs combining storytelling, art and mental health for hospitals, custody and community settings- Pop-Up Experiences that combine art, spectacle and human connection- Limited edition fashion and homewares that represent beauty, symbolism and conscious gift-giving

Why We Do ItHuman Beings MatterBy championing vulnerability, undivided attention and human connection we are helping people to know that they matter.When people know that they matter, they get on with doing the things that matter.In a world that is full and noisy we believe that often people don't necessarily feel that their lives or their social contributions matter.We want to see significant changes to the way people see themselves and each other and how they see their place in the world they live in.

Breaking Down StigmaMental health is a broad, nuanced space to talk about and work within.Instead of talking about 'mental health' or 'mental illness' we focus on mental resilience as our area of passion and exploration.Resilience is our "ability to cope with unexpected changes and challenges in our life".It's the way you move through things - and the way you move through things, both wonderful and challenging, is something that gets better with practice and that's what matters most.We can't control what will happen in our lives and we all move through both wonderful and challenging things in our lifetimes.Both the wonderful and challenging things are important and those experiences are what make-up the meaning of our lives and the strength and courage of our character.We help normalise conversations around human emotions and experiences, allowing for stories to be told that are both light and dark in nature - which is the reality of our human life. Through our work with people of many walks of life we have found that everyone has a story to tell, everyone experiences joy, sadness, triumph and courage in their lives.We believe there is some incredibly positive work that can be done in the realm of mental resilience when safe, encouraging spaces are created and people are given the tools that help them express and create, resulting in greater social education and progression.

Art Changes ThingsIt's not always easy talking about these things.Talking about personal experiences, exploring mental health, inviting people to connect and learn about each other might not be something we do everyday.Many of us have been socialised to keep ourselves safe by not sharing too much about ourselves, limiting our vulnerability and keeping our cards close to our chest.But we've found, through our work, time and time again, that if you can create a visually beautiful space and utilise a visually beautiful art form as the starting point for conversations and story-sharing, profound things can happen.Our use of intricate, colour-filled, symmetrical ink art making, syringes, confetti, spectacular environment design and sleek visual design is not accidental.It's a way of visually and culturally normalising the nature of our humanity - our innate similarities and differences.Our complexities, fears, hopes, desires, questions, wonder and strength.If we were to help make emotions normal, cool and understandable, we'd know we'd done something worthwhile in our work.We need that to happen for our children, our families, our co-workers and ourselves if we are to ease mental unrest and isolation; and increase resilience, community connection and creativity.

How We Do ItAll of our work is guided by 3 key principles:

1. Expression2. Creativity3. Education

We are dedicated to creating spaces and experiences that allow human beings to:

- be radically honest through personal storytelling,- be given a new skill that transforms that expression into something tangible; and- be invited to develop greater mindfulness, emotional vocabulary, narrative skills, relational skills and self-awareness

How Can I Experience Some of These Wonderful Things?

To experience one of our Life Pressing Sessions, Life Pressing Workshops or Life Pressing Program + Kit, head here

To talk about a program for your hospital or community setting, head here

Flutter This Way

Fresh new Life Pressings, new stories, new projects.We honour the time and space of your hearts, heads and inboxes.Join the list to follow the unfolding.

Email Address

Thank you!

CONNECT WITH US IN THE OTHER PLACES

Flutter Lyon is an innovative arts and health organisation based in Sydney, Australia - creating art and experiences for our world

Acknowledgement to Country

Flutter Lyon would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which we meet – the Wangal people of the Eora Nation. It is upon their ancestral lands that we work and create. As we share our stories, may we also pay respect to the stories embedded forever within the culture of the Indigenous custodians of this sacred land.